Tottenham remain in talks with Genoa for Romanian defender Radu Dragusin and are hoping to wrap up a deal for less than the Italian club's initial £25million asking price.
Spurs have prioritised the signing of a new centre-half this month and Dragusin, 21, is now considered their likeliest addition, with Nice in no rush to sell Jean-Clair Todibo and valuing the France international at least £43.5m.
Ange Postecoglou, the Spurs head coach, has called for the club to do their business early this month and they would like a new centre-half through the door ahead of the visit to Manchester United on January 14.
Postecoglou's first-choice pairing of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are both currently out with hamstring injuries, although the latter could return at Old Trafford having been sidelined since the defeat to Chelsea in early November.
Meanwhile, Pape Matar Sarr has agreed a new contract with Spurs until 2030, set to be announced in the next 24 hours, but the Senegal midfielder was today being assessed for the hamstring injury which forced him off in Sunday's 3-1 win over Bournemouth, with his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations in doubt.
Sarr left the pitch in tears after opening the scoring and he will have scans today to determine the extent of the problem.
Yves Bissouma will join up with Mali for the tournament, while Spurs captain Heung-min Son could also miss the next six weeks at the Asian Cup with South Korea.
Son has urged his teammates to feel the responsibility to "step up" while he is away at the Asian Cup, just as he did whenever Harry Kane was injured.
Son said: "I hope [they step up] more than anything, they are my family and my teammates. I hope they can score as many goals as possible.
"I feel [it's] like when Harry was here and he was missing some games with injuries. I felt like I needed to step up in previous years, I hope our players have this kind of feeling that they need to step up.
"In this situation you grow as a player and a human being. Richy [Richarlison] is doing a fantastic job, I hope he is hungry for more goals, also Deki [Kulusevski] and Brennan ][Johnson].
"I hope everybody who is playing attacking positions can score as many goals as possible and bring us to a better position. I wish it more than anything else."
